New Amalgam Comics: Justice 4

The Origin of the Justice Four (Fantastic Four + Justice League):
Geneticist Dr. Patrick Richards, astronomer Prof. Susan Hoshi, Susan's step-brother and engineer Ronnie Storm, physicist Martin Parrish (Max Parrish + Martin Stein), and space-shuttle pilot Ben Parr were hired by foreign aeronautics tycoon Vandal Von Doom (Dr. Doom + Vandal Savage) to study the effects of a nearby cosmic anomaly on board Vandal’s private space station, the Cynthia. The cosmic anomaly went haywire soon after the crew’s arrival and it bathed the station in cosmic rays, mutating the members on board. The crew made it back to Earth in an escape pod, but it was too late to avoid their genetic transformations; Patrick’s flesh became super-stretchy, Susan discovered that she can control light, Ronnie fused with Dr. Parrish and became a living bonfire of radiation, and Ben's flesh became magnetized metal. The crew soon discovered that Vandal had actually sent them to discover the exact coordinates of the anomaly, so that he may harness the energies as a weapon. The four used their new powers to defeat Doom and his army of robots, and send him back to Latvaznia (Latveria + Kaznia) with his tail between his legs.
The team decided then and there to use their new powers to fight crime and thwart villains like Doom.
They tried to join the Justice Avengers (Avengers + Justice League), but were rebuffed, since the JA was not accepting new members at the time. Founding member Iron Bat (Iron Man + Batman) decided to make the four an auxiliary team and gave them access to his secondary base at the top of the Baxter Building in New Metropolis (New York City + Metropolis) for them to use as their headquarters.
And thus beings the Justice Four.

Justice Four Members:

Mr. Plastic:
Amalgamation of: Mr. Fantastic + Plastic Man
Real Name: Prof. Patrick Richards
Biography: Growing up in an Irish-American crime family, Patrick Richards decided at a young age that he didn’t want to fall into the same pit of corruption and disease that the three generations before him now dwell. Patrick focused all of his energy on science, graduating from Harvard at age 18. At age 25, he was hired by Vandal Von Doom to lead a research crew to study a cosmic anomaly. Waves of radiation struck the space station, and the resulting turbulence spilled several vials of acid on Prof. Richards; the combination of cosmic rays and chemicals mutated Patrick’s body, giving him, stretching and shapeshifting powers.
Patrick soon became “Mr. Plastic”, leader of the Justice Four.
Patrick and his teammate Susan fell in love, married, and had two children, Lucas and May.
Powers: Genius in the fields of genetics, biology, and computer sciences. His ultra-pliable flesh allows him to mold himself into any shape he can think of a stretch up to 5 miles before feeling pain. The applications of his stretching powers range from transforming into a jet-plane to shortening the space between his cerebral synapses, accelerating his though process a hundred-fold. Immunity to telepathy. Can alter his muscular and facial structures (and morph his voice box) for disguising himself as other people. Can change size. Invulnerable to blades and small arms fire. He used his altered molecular structure to create the Justice Four’s uniforms, which can adapt to the wearers’ powers (can morph with Mr. Plastic’s body, turn invisible with Dr. Invisible, and not be burned by Torchstorm’s flame form).

Dr. Invisible:
Amalgamation of: Invisible Woman + Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)
Real Name: Dr. Susan Hoshi-Richards
Biography: A lot of people of Japanese heritage did not survive the incarceration of Japanese-American in response to the Pearl Harbor attacks; two of the survivors were 12-year-old Susan Hoshi and her mother Mary. Soon, her widow mother married Dr. Franklin Storm, and his son Ronnie became Susan’s stepbrother. The loss of her father and other members of her family during the period of Japanese prosecution made Susan bitter and hostile towards Ronnie.
Eventually Susan graduated with a doctorate from college, and became the supervising astronomer at an observatory. Dr. Hoshi was hired by Von Doom Aeronautics to study the anomaly; when the anomaly spewed out several waves of radiation at the space station, some of the rays were focused through the telescope Susan was using and mutated her.
When Susan's new light-manipulation powers fully developed, she joined the rest of the mutated crew in the Justice Four, taking the codename “Dr. Invisible.”
Her time as a superhero eventulally mellowed Susan out, and she fell in love with Patrick Richards, married him, and had two children with him.
Powers: Genius in the field of astronomy and mathematics. Light manipulation, which allows her to turn herself and others in range invisible, create and control hard-light constructs and shields, shoot burning energy bolts from her hands, blind enemies, fly on light waves, absorb light to create darkness, and create holograms.

Torchstorm:
Amalgamation of: Human Torch + Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond)
Real Name: Ronald “Ronnie” Storm
Biography: Ronnie Storm's mother died when he was young, and his father, Dr. Franklin Storm, later married Mary Hoshi. Ronnie was frequently abused by his older step-sister, Susan. After graduating college with a major in engineering, Ronnie and Susan were hired by Von Doom Aeronautics to study the space anomaly. A “lightning bolt” of cosmic radiation passed through both Ronnie and nuclear physicist Martin Parrish, fusing Parrish's mind with Ronnie's.
Ronnie gained the powers of nuclear radiation and joined his step-sister and crew members in the Justice Four, as “Torchstorm.”
Later, the cosmic powers that be removed the Martin Parrish personality from Ronnie's body, deeming that Parrish was the one they intended to be the “Fire Elemental”; without Parrish, Ronnie lost his powers and became deathly ill. Ronnie's Torchstorm replacement Frankie Rusch (Frankie Raye + Jason Rusch) agreed to become Galactiac's (Galactus + Brainiac) new Herald in exchange for healing Ronnie and restoring his powers.
When the J4 temporarily disbanded, Torchstorm started working for Power Control Inc. (Damage Control + Power Company), a construction company that employs superhuman laborers.
Powers: Expert engineer. Genius in the field of physics when fused with Dr. Parrish. Can generate an intense amount of fiery plasma from his skin without burning himself. Can fly in his “flame aura” and shoot fireballs at his enemies. Can will his flame aura to not engulf any part of his body, so he can safely carry people from danger by flight. Can absorb fire and mentally control it (to a slight limit). Can survive up to 24 hours without oxygen. Can see in thermal vision. Can survive in sub-zero temperatures. Can emit energy that rearranges matter (down to the molecular level) according to his will; can change a liquid into a solid, transmute lead into gold, heal damaged tissue, turn intangible, ect. The transmutations last until Torchstorm is either out of range or he loses focus.

Bullething:
Amalgamation of: The Thing + Bulletman
Real Name: Colonel Benjamin “Ben” Barr
Biography: Ben Barr was the son of a Jewish police officer who was killed in the line of duty. As a teenager, Ben joined the Air Force, shooting down Vietcong flyboys in the Vietnam Conflict. Ben later joined NASA and served in the first lunar landing. Ben was later hired by Von Doom Aeronautics to pilot the spacecraft carrying the reseach team to Von Doom's private space station. While onboard the station, the cosmic rays caused Ben to lose his balance and topple into a vat of liquid metal; exposure to the cosmic rays and liquid metal mutated Ben, making develop an organic metal hide.
Prof. Richards promises Ben that he will cure his condition, and in the meantime, Ben decided to join Richard's new superhero team, the Justice Four, as “Bullething.”
Powers: Expert airplane and spaceship pilot. Expert hand-to-hand fighter. Organic-metal flesh grants James super strength, super durability, super stamina, enhanced senses (except touch), enhanced reflexes and jumping ability, enhanced lung capacity, and an increase in his original height. The cosmic storm also increased his intelligence, though it’s nowhere near the levels of Prof. Richards and other geniuses of that caliber. Can manipulate the magnetism of his metal flesh to levitate and fly, deflect projectiles, stick to metallic surfaces, and draw in metal objects in a telekinetic fashion.

Supporting Characters:

Luke Richards:
Amalgamation of: Franklin Richards + Luke O'Brien
Real Name: Lucas “Luke” Richards
Biography: Luke Richards is the young son of Patrick and Susan Richards. He is also an Omega-Level Metamutant (mutant + metahuman) whose powers began developing when he was just a baby. When he was born, he mental powers prematurely activated, tearing a hole in the space-time conntinuum, and leaving the city to be attacked by the Annhilation Five (Annhilation Wave + Fatal Five) a team of alien criminals from the future. Mr. Plastic, Torchstorm, and Bullething were able to defeat the A5 with help from the Legion of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy + Legion of Super-Heroes). Luke’s began to show more control over his powers as he aged, and he even developed his father’s stretching powers. Luke made friends with the young superhero team Relative Power (Power Pack + Relative Heroes) and joined the team as “Mindbender” (Tattletale + Offspring). When most of Earth’s heroes were killed in the battle with the near-unstoppable Imperislaught (Onslaught + Imperiex), Luke used his powers to bring the dead heroes back to life on another planet.
Powers: Stretching and shapeshifting powers, similar to his father's (though he's able to change color, unlike his father). Advanced mental powers at allow him to: read minds, communicate telepathically, amplify the super powers of others, and alter reality to varying degrees.

May Richards:
Amalgamation of: Valeria Richards + Imako Hoshi
Real Name: Imako “May” Richards
Biography: Imako, or May, is the daughter of Patrick and Susan Richards, and younger sister of Luke Richards. She is named after her great-grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Susan found out that she was pregnant with May shortly before the arrival of Imperislaught. Since she is still just a child, it’s unknown when she’ll develop her own powers and whether they’ll match or even surpass her big brother’s or parents’.
But she has been able to finish a Rubik’s Cube by 12 months of age…
Powers: Intelligence quite advanced for someone her age.

HERBON:
Amalgamation of: HERBIE + L-Ron
Real Name: Humanoid Experimental Robot and B-type Observation Node
Biography: When the Justice Four needed the aide of Galactiac to take down a supervillain called the Oversphinx (Sphinx + Overmaster), they contacted the alien scientist Manga Xar (Master Xar + Manga Khan) to help them develop a way to find Galactiac's Power Cosmic. The experiments resulted in an intelligent robot they named HERBON, a rather chipper and friendly personality who aided the heroes in finding Galactiac. After the Oversphinx was defeated, the J4 decided to buy HERBON from Manga Xar in exchange for some of Mr. Plastic's technology. HERBON is now the main operating system for the J4's headquarters and the nanny of Mr. Plastic's and Dr. Invisible's children.
Powers: Intelligence; a robotic body that's more durable than normal humans; technopathy; built-in tools and weapons; flight on rocket boosters.

Laserhawk:
Amalgamation of: Lyja the Laserfist + Firehawk
Real Name: Lyjarane
Biography: In an attempt to dismantle Earth’s superhero defenses, the Skrultian Empire (Skrulls + Martians) used the collected DNA samples of the Justice Four to create an army of Ultra-Skrultians (Super-Skrull + Ultra the Multi-Alien). One of their agents, Lyjarane, was given the powers of Torchstorm and sent to attack the Justice Four. When her initial assault failed, Lyjarane pretended to be a human named Lorraine Green, who was mutated into a fire-blasting superhuman by Crucimak (Crucible + Tokamak) and Multiform (Lifeform + Multiplex), agents of A.H.E.M. (AIM + HIVE). The Justice Four defeated the pair (who retained innocence about human experimentations), and Ronnie and Lorainne fell in love.
Lyjarane eventually revealed to Ronnie that she was the Skrultian that attacked the Four months ago, and she also told them of an upcoming Skrultian invasion.
The Justice Four, with Lyjarane’s help, turned back the invaders, but she was slain by the invasion’s commander, Paibok Ro (Paibok + Kanjar Ro).
Lyjarane was later resurrected by Deathseid (Thanos + Darkseid), ruler of the New Eternals of Apoktan (Eternals/Titan + New Gods/Apokilips), as part of an invasion force.
Powers: Skrultian powers of shapeshifting. Radiation blasts and transmutation blasts. Force-field generation. Self density manipulation. Resistance to the skrultian weakness of fire. Generation of wings made from fire. Trained in Skrultian military tactics and combat. Knowledge of Earth cultures and languages.

Alicia Ching:
Amalgamation of: Alicia Masters + I Ching
Biography: Alicia Ching is the descendant of an ancient order of Tibetan monks, who are now gone after their monastery was destroyed by Dr. Sand (Quicksand + Dr. Cyber). Young Alicia was blinded in a car accident that killed her father; her mother later remarried to Philip Lord, future liaison between the American government and the Justice Avengers. Alicia inherited a scroll of the monks from her father, which she used to help Thunder Woman (Thor + Wonder Woman) reclaim the secrets and treasures of the monastery from Dr. Sand. She later befriended and fell in love with Ben Barr, the monstrous Bullething of the Justice Four, and helped him and his teammates fight her stepfather, who had become the super-villain Puppet Lord (Puppet Master + Maxwell Lord).
Powers: Though blind, her other senses are amplified, though not as great as the senses of Dr. Dare (Daredevil + Dr. Mid-Nite). Master sculptress and martial artist.

She-Bullet:
Amalgamation of: She-Thing + Bulletgirl
Real Name: Sharon Kent
Biography: Sharon Kent was an accountant for the superhuman sports organization UCWF (Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation); Sharon secretly wished to be a super-athlete for the UCWF, so she hired Dr. Hannibal Jackson, the evil scientist known as Everypower (Power Broker + Everyman), to bestow her with super-strength, durability, and stamina. As “Ms. Sheerforce” (Ms. Marvel + Windshear), Sharon battled Bullething, who was going through a separation with Alicia, and the two fell in love while knocking heads with the Demolition Crew (Wrecking Crew + Demolition Team). While battling Dr. Diablo (Diablo + Dr. Alchemy), Ms. Sheerforce spontaneously mutated into a female version of Bullething. Freaked out by this sudden transformation, Sharon broke Dr. Diablo’s spine and went on a rampage throughout the city, blaming Ben for the change. She eventually learned that Everypower used stolen samples of Bullething’s DNA to mutate Sharon. After mopping the floor with Everypower, despite him giving himself shapeshifting powers during the battle, Sharon reconciled with Ben. She changed her codename to She-Bullet and served as a replacement member of the Justice Four until her powers wore off on their own. She is currently re-employed at UCWF. In an alternate reality, it was shown that Ben and Sharon were married and had a son named Jacob, who inherited his father’s powers and took on his mother’s first codename as “Mr. Sheerforce.”
Powers: When she was She-Bullet, she possessed the same powers as Bullething, although relatively less powerful. Master of wrestling martial arts.

Willie Winks:
Amalgamation of: Willie Lumpkin + Woozy Winks
Biography: William Winks is a long-time friend of Patrick Richards, and a mailman who delivers to the Justice Four's headquarters.

Silver Pariah:
Amalgamation of: Silver Surfer + Pariah
Real Name: Norrin Mossa
Biography: Norrin Mossa was a great scientist from the planet Zenn-Kell, but he always dreamed of a life of adventure. When the mighty Galactiac came to destroy the planet, Norrin struck a deal with the titan; he agreed to be Galactiac’s new Herald, in exchange for Zenn-Kell’s protection. Galactiac agreed and bestowed a small fraction of the Power Cosmic unto Norrin, transforming him into the Silver Pariah.
Norrin was forced to lead Galactiac to hundreds of inhabited planets, and to watch in horror as he collected every cultures’ information and consume the planet afterwards. When Galactiac and the Silver Pariah finally came to Earth, Dr. Invisible convinced Norrin to turn against Galactiac. Silver Pariah led the Four onto Galactiac’s spaceship and gave them the Gamma Nullifier (Ultimate Nullifier + Gamma Gong), an alien device that uses vibrational energy to break down any substance at the molecular level. After charging up the Nullifier with Torchstorm’s energy, Mr. Plastic blasted off Galactiac’s hand, threatening to destroy him if he didn’t leave Earth and ever return. Galactiac left Earth, but not before using the Power Cosmic to prevent Norrin from ever leaving Earth. Silver Pariah eventually broke this curse, and set off on a crusade to destroy Galactiac, especially after he destroyed Zenn-Kell with his new herald, Typhoon-Walker (Air-Walker + Typhoon).
When he was stuck on Earth, Norrin served as a member of the Defending Society (Defenders + Justice Society).
Powers: Brilliant scientist. Channels the Power Cosmic through his board-like craft. Possesses great strength and durability. Longevity. Can fly faster than the speed of light on his board. Energy blasts from hands. Matter manipulation (for healing and intangibility). Teleportation.

The Observer:
Amalgamation of: The Watcher + The Monitor
Real Name: Dax Uatu
Biography: 13 billion years ago, the New Amalgam Multiverse was created due to the cosmic tampering Krona Saal (Garthan Saal + Krona), an alien scientist who attempted to witness the beginning of his universe. Another result of the scientist’s machinations was the birth of a race of immortal and nigh-omnipotent beings that spanned the breadth of the multiverse. These beings came together as the Observers, who dedicated their existence to chronicling the history of their universes with absolutely NO interfering. One of the Obersvers, Dax Uatu, who was in charge of observing Space Sector 2814 of Universe A-1 (the main New Amalgam Universe), grew an unwarranted affection to the people of Earth, whom he observed from their Moon, and thus he broke his pledge of non-interference several times to aide the Justice Four and other heroes in battling space-born threats, starting with the planet-eating robot Galactiac.
Powers: Like all members of the Observers, he possesses vast, mighty, and indefinable powers and access to incomprehensible technologies.